Quintetto per cinque solisti

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Composer Name

Zivkovic, Nebojsa Jovan

General Info

Year:
Duration: 00:16:00
Difficulty: Advanced
Publisher:
Cost: Score and Parts - $25.00   |   Score Only - $0.00

Instrumentation

Player 1: Marimba & Crotales & 2 China Cymbals & Triangle & Small Metal Tube
Player 2: Marimba & Crotales & Tambourine & 2 Woodblocks
Player 3: Marimba & Tambourine & 2 Woodblocks & 2 Tom-toms
Player 4: Marimba & Tambourine & 2 Woodblocks & 2 Tom-toms
Player 5: Bass Marimba & Bass Drum & Cymbal & Heavy Chain

Program Notes

Quintetto, just as most of my other works, was composed mostly at night. And this is how it starts - in the dark night atmosphere, in the low register of the bass marimba. The piece was composed for the US tour of the "Percussion Ensemble Stuttgart" and had its premiere performance at the Percussive Arts Society International Convention (PASIC) in Nashville by the same ensemble. At that time as well as today, it is a "complicated" instrumentation, since five marimbas are not the most practical selection one could make. This eccentric instrumentation is further complicated by extreme technical demands placed on the musicians. The music actually is of a soloist's level, therefore the title: "Quintet for Five Soloists". The principal idea - putting together five different soloists and characters into one rather large and energetic piece - is achieved in various ways. In some parts of the piece, for example, I call for five different tempi imultaneously...the connecting parameters at such places, are only a mathematical proportions of those five tempi to each other. After the one-by-one opening of each player in the mid-low register, they remain together in a contemplative pianissimo for a while, until the first "break out" occurs by one of the players. This represents the "soloist" tendency. The middle section of the piece is built on several attempts of different "soloists" to break out, but they are always caught and brought back by the rest of the group. Eventually, duo and trio "connections" among the ensemble members are being established (for example: the melody in the crotales is actually performed by three players, which also gives a nice panorama effect in live performance). Finally, the group spirit wins and the five soloists find themselves in an energetic, groovy and wild ride towards the ending - a heavy chain stroke against a huge tam-tam on the stage floor.